77 dead after train derails, splits apart in Spain

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By Al Goodman, Elwyn Lopez, Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN

updated 5:39 AM EDT, Thu July 25, 2013

Madrid (CNN) — An express train derailed as it hurtled around a curve in northwestern Spain on Wednesday, killing at least 77 people and injuring more than 100, officials said.

At least 73 people died at the scene, and four others died while hospitalized, said María Pardo Ríos, spokeswoman for the Galicia regional supreme court. In Spain, judges typically record deaths that take place outside of hospitals.

Judicial teams are still at the crash site and expect to find more bodies, she told CNN Thursday morning. There is no word yet on the nationalities of those killed.

More than 20 injured victims remained in critical condition early Thursday, said Agustin Hernandez Fernandez of the Galicia infrastructure ministry.

Flames burst out of one train car as another car was snapped in half, following the crash. Rescue crews and fellow passengers pulled out bodies through broken windows and pried open doors as stunned survivors looked on.